What You Should Know
- Indiana DNR has detected two confirmed cases of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in wild deer – one in LaGrange County and one in Posey County.
- There are no management actions that have been shown to cure, prevent, or eradicate CWD once it’s established. Indiana DNR’s response plan focuses on monitoring the spread of CWD to inform hunters and enable Hoosiers to live with the presence of this disease in deer.
- The positive deer in Posey County was detected in an area of the state that is not known to have CWD nearby; therefore, DNR is implementing a CWD Enhanced Surveillance Zone in Posey, Gibson, and Vanderburgh Counties to find the percentage of deer that are positive for CWD in that area and to understand where the disease is.
- DNR will continue to make CWD testing available at participating Fish & Wildlife areas, State Fish Hatcheries, and National Wildlife Refuges during deer hunting season.
- Currently, no evidence suggests that CWD can infect humans.
- Learn more about the full plan to manage CWD.
About Chronic Wasting Disease
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal infectious disease that affects the nervous system in white-tailed deer. It is caused by misfolded prions that damage the brain and nervous system. Other similar prion diseases include mad cow disease and scrapie in sheep. CWD is contagious among deer through direct contact, contaminated environments, and bodily fluids. Prions shed by infectious animals can persist in the environment for many years.
CWD has been detected in free-ranging white-tailed deer in over 30 states including Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky, and Wisconsin.
Indiana DNR staff collect tissue samples from wild deer year-round (hunter-harvested or reported sick/dead) to monitor the presence of CWD in Indiana.
Learn more about Indiana’s CWD surveillance history in the annual Indiana White-tailed Deer Report.
Indiana DNR’s Response Plan for CWD
Indiana DNR responds to a CWD detection when a wild deer tests positive for CWD within the state or within 10 miles outside the Indiana border. If the CWD positive case is found in or near an area that already has CWD, DNR will denote a CWD Positive Area and continue monitoring.
If the positive case is in an area where CWD is not already established, DNR will designate either a CWD Enhanced Surveillance Zone or an 18-month CWD Management Zone
- What happens in the CWD Positive Area currently in LaGrange, Steuben, Noble, and DeKalb counties?
- If a live, wild deer is found in a Positive Area, it cannot be moved outside of the CWD Positive Area for any reason, including rehabilitation (312 IAC 9-2-17).
- What happens in the CWD Enhanced Surveillance Zone currently in Posey, Gibson, and Vanderburgh counties?
- If necessary in the future, what would happen in an 18-month CWD Management Zone?
- What restrictions are there concerning moving deer around the state?
- How can cervid farmers check their deer for CWD?
Partner Incentive Program
Indiana DNR and the National Deer Association have started a program to collect samples for CWD testing with the help of taxidermists and meat processors. In the 2025-2026 hunting season, partners will be asked to participate based on available funding and coverage.
Participating partners will collect the two retropharyngeal lymph nodes found in the neck of white-tailed deer and provide the approximate age of the deer. DNR will pay partners $10 for each viable sample they collect and will provide sampling supplies and training to all participating taxidermists. Partners will use a provided sample datasheet with corresponding barcoded stickers to record the information that needs to be collected from the hunter.
Hunters will be able to look up the results of their deer’s CWD test online three to four weeks after the samples are collected from the partner.
Carcass Transportation
Out-of-state deer hunters should follow carcass transportation regulations for their home state and carcass transportation regulations for the state in which they are hunting.
Import restrictions governing carcasses in Indiana
Human Health
There have been no reported cases of CWD infection in humans. DNR recommends that hunters have their deer tested and that people do not eat meat from an animal that tests positive for CWD. See the National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center for more information.
For questions related to human health, contact the Indiana State Department of Health at 317-233-1325.
More Information
If you have any questions regarding CWD or other diseases in wild deer, contact the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Fish & Wildlife at 844-803-0002 or a DNR Fish & Wildlife health biologist in your region.
You can also find up-to-date CWD news on the Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance website.
FAQs
- What are the signs of CWD?
- Why is DNR testing for CWD?
- How are deer tested for CWD?
- Will I be notified of my CWD test results?
- Where can hunters have deer tested?
- Am I required to turn over a sample of my deer?
- How can I tell if the deer I harvested has CWD?
- Are there other options to get deer tested for CWD?
- What precautions should people take to prevent the spread of CWD?
- What measures are being taken to decrease the number of deer infected with CWD in wild populations? Are there any guidelines in place to manage CWD?
- What are the long-term effects of CWD on deer and the landscape?
- What should I do if I encounter an animal suspected of having CWD?
- Are there any treatments for CWD?
- How can I safely consume deer meat in areas affected by CWD?
- What should I do about deer meat already in my freezer that I haven’t tested?
- What research is being done to better understand and combat CWD and develop effective management strategies?
- Can domestic animals be infected with CWD?